Christian Bioethics and Academic Practice in Russia

Dmitry Balalykin, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Research Fellow at the National Research Institute for Public Health, Moscow, RussiaNataliya Shok, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at the Department of the History of Medicine, National History and Culturology of FSAEI HE I.M.Sechenov First MSMU MOH Russia (Sechenov University)

Christian bioethics is the result of the interaction of medicine and the most widespread traditional religion in the world – Christianity. This report's goal is to discuss the specifics and perspectives of this area of bioethical research within the framework of Russian public health, medical science and education.

A peculiarity of modern Russian society is the lack of a generally accepted form of declaring individual religious beliefs: the person who says "I am a Christian" or "I am Muslim" is, in the opinion of many, behaving provocatively. In many respects, this is the result of 70 years of anti-religious repressions conducted by the Soviet government. At the same time, over the last 25 years, Russian society has experienced a religious renaissance, and Christianity is reclaiming its position. Churches or chapels have opened in many hospitals. Any version of neophytism presumes considerable emotionality, therefore the public polemic concerning the interaction of Christianity and medicine is sometimes quite aggressive.

The Christian approach to bioethics is significantly strengthened by one of the federal laws (No 125-FZ of September 26, 1997, “On the freedom of conscience and religious associations”) that defines Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism as traditional Russian religions that have existed in the country for more than a century. Accordingly, the legal field recognizes the legitimacy of these religions' claims to a special socio-cultural role. Thus, the interpretation of the main theoretical provisions of bioethics from the Christian viewpoint becomes a possibility in the educational process, and in the work of hospitals' and universities' ethics committees, directly regulating clinical practice and research programs.​Another document of great importance is The Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted by the Sacred Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. Its nature is that of a practical guide for all Orthodox Christians. As a result of the Orthodox Physicians Society's work, a whole section of this document is dedicated to specific medical issues. For example, in vitro fertilization is recognized as permissible for Christians if sperm of the husband is used, and the destruction of "extra" embryos is not permitted, i.e. all fertilized ova should be implanted in the uterus. It is easy to see that this approach places very clear demands on the Christian physician and the Christian patient. Accordingly, the active discussion by Russian Orthodox Church members on new medical technologies expands opportunities for their influence on medical practice. The specifics of Russian education is such that they are founded on federal standards based on a clearly defined group of competencies necessary for mastering training processes at all stages of doctor's training. The combination of the existing legislative framework, the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and public medical organizations makes it possible for Christian bioethics principles to be used and introduced both in medical education and in the practice of biomedical research.